Is LW a jerk?

Donate To GopherHole
SelectionSunday said:
I have no idea if he's a jerk, but I'm sure glad he plays for the Gophers. Just got back from the game awhile ago and am surprised to see Lawrence (again) getting criticized here. I thought Lawrence looked his typical self today, a fearless, intense competitor who wears his emotions on his sleeves. Sometimes it doesn't look the best, true, but I'm kinda' glad there's a melting pot of personalities on the Gopher team. Not every player has to play like or have the facial expressions of a choir boy. As long as they keep their nose clean off the court, keep up on the books, have the will to win & compete their a*s off (which Lawrence does), I'm cool with that.

Gophers were solid today. That's what you do with an inferior opponent, especially on the road, put the hammer down right away. I actually feel pretty bad for Iowa. They're going through what we did in the downest of down Monson years. Not a lot of talent there, though I was impressed with the May kid. Felt especially bad for Lickliter's kid. He's being forced to play, and he had no chance against the Gophers' pressure.

We did what we needed to do since the 4-3 start. ... hold serve, avoid the bad loss & win 7 straight vs. inferior opposition. Now the hard part, playing at Purdue. Not expecting a W in Mackey, but get through next week 3-1 and we're off to a good start in the Big 10.

One more thing. As others have noted, WE NEED TO FINISH AT THE FREAKING RIM.
Click to expand...

I think it is time we do expect wins on the road, even against a top ranked Boiler team.
 

Nothing like a bunch of birdwatchers drawing life behaviours from a facial expression.

Geez. What a bunch of scientists!

Let the guy play and quit trying to create a problem. One of the bad things about internet fans.
 

The other bad thing is those who think they know everything and insult those they disagree with. It's a legit question as Ive observed this over 2.5 seasons and be was recently suspended for a half. Is it no longer ok to wonder about team chemistry? It's not like we're making things up as this is visible on court behavior. Also everyone who has said they noticed the sAme thing has given him props as well. Maybe you should get off your high horse
 

oleboy41, I have no problem with you asking the question...certainly his on-court antics aren't Michael Bauer-like (a huge on and off the court cheerleader) but many leaders are wired differently. I agree with Pewter that Westbrook's style works on a team that's winning and usually doesn't when a team is losing. I won't be surprised if the "chemistry" is better next year, but I also won't be surprised if we're missing his killer instinct and aggression.

Go Gophers!!
 

Several years ago, Rick Pitino told the reporters this, "I don't care how my players get along off the court, I only care about how they play on the court". Yes, I saw that too but who cares. If he plays like he did against UW last year, I wouldn't care less if he is a good team member or not.
 


oleboy41 said:
I've been wondering this for a while. I like him as a player but his body language has always been bad. If a teammate makes a mistake or turns the ball over its not rare at all to see him throw his arms down in a mini tantrum. He's also just always seemed kind of distant from the rest of his teammates to me as well. I remember when the BTN followed the team for the 07 season of The Road, LW was never even on camera. I wondered if its just because he's quiet or because he's not around his teammates. Also his play can most definitely be described as selfish much of the time as he almost always looks for his own shot and consistently fails to dish to open guys while taking tough shots himself. I'm asking this just because I'm wondering if others have thought this too or if I"m being irrational
Click to expand...

Not nearly as much of a jerk as you, Art and the other tools here that want to call out the kid and make him look bad here! :pig:
 


ruppertflywheel said:
Gopher football team and they play in the BCS Championship Game. He led the team in assists yesterday and with the 40# weight loss other than Nolan he is there best defensive player.
Click to expand...

You forgot about the actual best defender on the team-Johnson.
 

oleboy41 said:
I've been wondering this for a while. I like him as a player but his body language has always been bad. If a teammate makes a mistake or turns the ball over its not rare at all to see him throw his arms down in a mini tantrum. He's also just always seemed kind of distant from the rest of his teammates to me as well. I remember when the BTN followed the team for the 07 season of The Road, LW was never even on camera. I wondered if its just because he's quiet or because he's not around his teammates. Also his play can most definitely be described as selfish much of the time as he almost always looks for his own shot and consistently fails to dish to open guys while taking tough shots himself. I'm asking this just because I'm wondering if others have thought this too or if I"m being irrational
Click to expand...

He's a competitor. He wants to win. That's why he gets pissed when he or the team does something wrong.
 



There was one play against Iowa that LW started to drive the lane, but was collapsed on by at least three opponents and picked up his dribble. I could just see that passing the ball when he was that close to the basket was akin to ripping his own beating heart out and passing that.
 

I have a question for you posters...Some complain because RSIII doesn't show enough emotion in a game of intensity, and others complain because LW shows too much emotion in a game of intensity. How can we judge? Let the guys play the game, listen to Tubby, and please stop with these types of nonsensical comments.

We are who we are!

And each player is who he is.

Go Gophers!
 

Difference between emotion and pouting. Plenty of guys are fierce competitors and scowl/yell/whatever and I'm fine with that. My question really came from the arm flopping, stop running, temper tantrum stuff that comes out sometimes. I don't really care anymore but I just need to point out that the 'he's a competitor!' argument doesn't hold water regarding that type of behavior.
 

I don't think it's just that he shows too much emotion and I don't think it's just that Ralph doesn't show enough. Ralph often not playing with intensity/aggressiveness is the problem. I think there is plenty of evidence to simply ask a question about Westbrook's character. I don't think it's really that big of an issue, but there is validity to the question.


Dr.Don said:
I have a question for you posters...Some complain because RSIII doesn't show enough emotion in a game of intensity, and others complain because LW shows too much emotion in a game of intensity. How can we judge? Let the guys play the game, listen to Tubby, and please stop with these types of nonsensical comments.

We are who we are!

And each player is who he is.

Go Gophers!
Click to expand...
 



My only contribution here is to state that it's really hard to judge a kid or person based on their actions during athletic competitions. Everybody handles frustration differently and admittedly, some do a better job of managing it than others. However, even people who don't handle frustration well aren't bad people. I understand some folks not liking LW's attitude at times. But I tend to agree with others that state the kid simply wants to win games, period. I can state for a fact that when I played, I was extremely intense and was often a bit snappish and became frustrated pretty easily on the court. However, I made a concerted effort to leave that stuff on the court and as a result, I was always pretty easy going off of it. Perhaps Lawrence is the same way? I can't guarantee that, but I can say this: Every team out there has some personality conflicts, even the most successful ones. It's just a matter of how you manage everybody's personalities that determines how well you do.

So, I'll sum up by saying I'm very happy to have LW on this team. He frustrates me at times as well, but you could say that about everybody else on this team as well.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom